Self-inking hand stamping devices of the general type described above have been known for many years. Many of these devices are discussed in the background section of U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,432,281 and 4,852,489, which were issued to the assignee of the present application in 1984 and 1989, respectively.
The devices shown in the '281 and '489 patents have provided important commercial improvements in self-inking hand stamping devices as compared to the prior art discussed in the background section of those patents for many of the reasons discussed therein. These include the ability to grasp the device in a person's hand from any direction about the device, and then easily being placed for use and operation by the same hand position; the ability to display indicia or information of a stamp to be impressed by the device, with the indicia being legible in more than one direction; the ability to accommodate indicia covering the width of the stamp carrying platen of the device so that the full imprint of the stamp as wide as the platen can be displayed; and the ability to replenish the ink supply of the pad when it becomes dry without soiling one's fingers with ink.
These and other objects were accomplished by the device shown, for example, in the '281 patent by providing a self-inking stamping device which is easily grasped and operated by the user engaging opposite sides of an operating upper member from any direction at any location about the device; by providing an operating member with a closure over the top sloped outwardly in the upward direction from the bottom to the top and merging with the closure; providing for presentation of a flat upwardly facing top surface which has approximately the same width and length as the open area of the device where the stamp platen operates, and having a sloped surface defining a front of the device which becomes readily apparent to the user for orientation purposes; and by providing accessibility to the ink pad holder from the top of the operating member for re-inking without removal of the ink pad or for removal of the entire ink pad for replacement through the top closure.
While these devices have thus proven to be extremely successful on a commercial basis, the need has continued for more improved self-inking hand stamping devices of this type. For example, in the device shown in the '281 patent the springs which activate the device are compressed between the ink pad and a bridge affixed to a rim at the top of the operating member. In this manner, when the cover is removed the springs remain active, and impinge directly upon the ink pad itself. While this has some advantages, it has the disadvantage of requiring that, in order to replace the ink pad, the bridge member must be detached from the rim, and lifted out of the encasement. Then, a used ink pad holder which is to be removed must be flicked off the gripping spring coils with a pencil or other such instrument and replaced with a new ink pad holder, such as to change colors of the imprints and the like.
There also exist prior art self-inking stamps which include removable ink pads. For example, in prior art devices such as those shown in U.S. Pat. Nos. 1,345,255 and 1,042,766, as well as in commercially available devices such as a metal self-inking stamp manufactured by Colop, the ink pads are removable for replacement purposes. The latter device is also represented by U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,058,501 and 4,823,696. In addition, a plastic self-inking stamp with a removable ink pad is sold under the name Printy, by Trodat. However, in each of these prior art devices, it is possible to inadvertently remove the ink pad during use, and in these devices it is difficult to handle these ink pads without risking the soiling of the user's fingers. Furthermore, many of these devices do not provide the option of re-inking either with or without removal of the ink pad from the device itself.
Thus, the search has continued for a self-inking device in which the springs do not necessarily remain active upon removal of the cover, and which at the same time preferably do not rest on the ink pad itself, which can thus be readily removed, either for replacement or re-inking.
In addition, while in some instances it may be desirable to include a spring mechanism in these devices which is affixed to a portion of the frame member upon removal of the cover, so that they are rendered inactive thereupon, at the same time, this must be done in a manner which makes it easy to replace the cover and put the device back into its active configuration.
Furthermore, since the development of the device shown in the '281 patent, further improved ink pads have been devised, and these ink pads no longer require use of the type of pockets 24 shown in the '281 patent enclosing ink receptive material, such as disks or pads of felt, to aid in distribution of the ink from the pockets into the main body of the ink pad as shown therein.
It is also desirable to provide such self-inking stamp devices utilizing these ink pads which are cleaner and more reliable for removal, and which cannot be inadvertently removed from the device.